PROPELLED by an eight-goal performance by small forward Stephen Milne, St Kilda has continued its finals charge with a vicious 103-point mauling of a dismal Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
The 19.13 (127) to 3.6 (24) win in front of 26,546 fans was the Saints' seventh - and easily biggest - win in their past nine matches, and boosted them into the top eight for the first time this year by virtue of an eight point rise in percentage.
Adelaide's score was the lowest in its history, and made it eight losses from the past nine matches for Neil Craig's embattled team.
The Crows' previous record low score was 4.7 (31), also against the Saints, at Moorabbin in round seven of 1991.
Influential players
Influential players were difficult to find for Adelaide, but it could be said that they gained good service in the clinches from Michael Doughty, who had a game-high 14 contested possessions in his 25 disposals.
Ruckman Sam Jacobs (13 disposals, 36 hitouts) battled hard all night, as did ever-reliable Scott Thompson (26 disposals).
From bad to worse
From the Crows, it was a game of two halves. First half: bad. Second half: worse.
In the opening two quarters, Craig's men were at least competitive when the ball was in dispute, winning the first half contested possession count 59-53.
Their problems were poor skills and an inability to spot a target through St Kilda's highly-organised 18-man defensive zone.
Saints Ben McEvoy, Justin Koschitzke, Sam Fisher and Raph Clarke all took marks from indiscriminate Crows bombs inside 50 in the first quarter alone.
By contrast, St Kilda capitalised on its opportunities, managing six scoring shots from only 10 first quarter forward 50 entries to open a 23-point break at the first change.
The lead was extended to 45 points by half time with five goals to one in a scrappy second quarter of football, putting the game beyond doubt.
At that stage, the Crows led the inside 50 count 22-19 but had managed only two goals.
Smelling a much-needed percentage booster, St Kilda ran out after half time determined to wreak havoc on the scoreboard.
In a devastating sign of the dominance that followed, Adelaide couldn't get the ball inside its forward 50 at all in the first 20 minutes of the term.
By the time they did, the Saints had already recorded 11 scoring shots, but were relatively wasteful with 4.7 as the visitors managed only one behind for the term.
St Kilda then banged in five unanswered goals to start the fourth quarter, extending the lead beyond 100 points before the final siren brought an end to the slaughter.
What it means
The Crows are the only team yet to win an away match this season and, with only four wins to their name, could drop to 15th on the ladder if the Brisbane Lions beat North Melbourne on Saturday.
They've now lost 14 straight matches in Victoria, eight of those at Etihad Stadium.
Toyota AFL Dream Team highlight
Jared Petrenko led the Crows with 122 points, and Thompson also defied the belting to contribute 121. Only two other Adelaide players managed more than 70 points.
Next four
Port Adelaide (AS), Brisbane Lions (G), Geelong (AS), Gold Coast (MS).
What the coach said
Neil Craig
"The second half in particular was really poor, sub-standard at this level, so we have to cope with whatever criticism we get. At half time we never looked like getting into the game. It was an avalanche."
Quarter by quarter
First quarter
St Kilda made the most of Adelaide's errors and turnovers to punish the Crows in front of goal. Adelaide had 12 inside 50s compared to 10 and yet could only manage one goal compared to the Saints' five. St Kilda's cleaner skills and quicker ball movement set gave their small forwards plenty of opportunities. Stephen Milne kicked the opening two goals of the match before Adelaide's ruckman Sam Jacobs set up Patrick Dangerfield for the Crows' only goal of the term. Later in the quarter, Milne won a free kick against Graham Johncock and kicked his third and the Saints fifth.
Second quarter
The Saints extended their lead quickly when they kicked the opening two goals of the term through Nick Riewoldt and Nick Dal Santo. Again too many errors from the Crows allowed the Saints to dominate; the visitors again won the inside 50s 10-9 but could not capitalise. Adelaide's one goal from the quarter, to Scott Thompson, came after Justin Koschitzke gave away a 50-metre penalty in the centre of the ground. Schneider continued to provide an avenue to goal and Riewoldt kicked a second when he out-muscled Ben Rutten in the forward 50. The Saints had a comfortable 47-point lead at the main break.
Third quarter
St Kilda continued its dominance, and it was Milne doing the damage again. He kicked three of the Saints' four goals for the term, while Schneider kicked the other, his fourth of the night. The Crows managed just a rushed behind for the term and it came from their first entry into the forward 50, 20 minutes into the quarter. St Kilda totally dominated the quarter, recording 18 inside 50s to four and 113 disposals to 82.
Fourth quarter
Milne's seventh goal came four minutes into the final quarter. It was vintage Milne, running around from the tight angle and kicking a banana. When Koschitzke honoured Riewoldt's lead and the skipper kicked his third goal of the night, the Saints had taken their lead out to 90 points, and had jumped the Sydney Swans into eighth place on the ladder. Schnieder's fifth goal pushed St Kilda's lead to more than 100 points. The Crows' only major for the second half came at the 23-minute mark of the quarter when Ricky Henderson nailed a long goal.
St Kilda 5.1 10.2 14.11 19.13 (127)
Adelaide 1.2 2.5 2.6 3.6 (24)
GOALS
St Kilda: Milne 8, Schneider 5, Riewoldt 3, Dal Santo, Koschitzke, Montagna
Adelaide: Dangerfield, Thompson, Henderson
BEST
St Kilda: Milne, Goddard, Dal Santo, Schneider, Armitage, Jones
Adelaide: Thompson, Doughty, Jacobs
INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Adelaide: Symes (cheekbone), Thompson (leg)
SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Sam Fisher replaced by Jarryn Geary in the third quarter.
Adelaide: Brad Symes replaced by Brodie Smith in the third quarter.
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Vozzo, Farmer, McInerney
Official crowd: 26,546 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the club.
